Not What I Had Planned
by Allen the Musician
Summary: This was not what I had planned. . ." Those were the words that the 14th whispered to the terrified child whose life he was about to destroy. The words were true but there was no other choice. He was determined, he WOULD defeat the Earl with his hands.


Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man

Not What I Had Planned

_"This was not what I had planned. . ."_

The Fourteenth couldn't help but think these words to himself as he gazed down at the quivering little body that was huddled in front of him. The little brown haired child was sitting on the ground and curled into the tightest ball imaginable, his back pushed up against the wall, quivering with fear. The boy's eyes were obscurred from view by his long hair however the Fourteenth couldn't fail to notice the tears that were falling onto the kid's lap. The little boy was crying without a sound. The Fourteenth knew that he should feel bad for the boy, should loathe the fact that he was forcing his own life upon him, however he didn't have time for sympathy.

He was well aware of the fact that his days, or perhaps even his hours, were numbered and as a result of this knowledge had decided that there was only one thing to do.

He would use the forbidden magic that he had learned to implant his memories into the body of another. Then, over time, the memories would eventually begin to erode the host and provide him with a means to come back from the grave. He had made no plans as to whose body he would use and now that he was running out of time the Musician found that his options were woefully limited. This poor little child, which he had just happened to come across, would be the unfortunate victim.

It wasn't what he had planned however time was not on his side. "Not that it means much to you little one but I am sorry."

There was no reaction from the boy at his words, the Fourteenth couldn't really be sure if he had even heard them. The child seemed to be too scared to look at him and the Fourteenth figured that this was just as well. The kid wouldn't remember any of this once the spell was complete so there really was no need for him to look into the eyes of the child that he was damning.

He was well aware of the fact that the magic he was planning to use was forbidden but at this point in the game the Fourteenth really couldn't care less. He had done much worse things during his time as a Noah so what did it matter if one little boy suffered in the course of him gaining his revenge against the Millennium Earl?

In the back of his mind the Musician knew that it mattered a great deal to this poor little boy, who seemed to have been cast aside by society, but he forced himself not to think about that. He had to return. He had to come back for Mana's sake and he had to finish what he had started and kill the Millennium Earl.

That man would die by his hands.

Standing over the terrified little form, who was shaking violently but trying not to make a sound, the Fourteenth uttered the words of the spell that would forever seal his memories into the mind of this boy. The words that would forever bind the two of them together. From this moment on this child would have the license and would be able to play the song that controlled Noah's Ark.

And no one would know about it save for him.

Once the spell had been cast the Fourteenth knelt down so that he could be at eye level with the child. He hadn't wanted this, hadn't intended to look the boy in the eyes, however the child was shaking so hard that it looked as though he were in the midst of a seizure and the Fourteenth found himself wanting to offer comfort.

And this realization made him laugh.

He wanted to offer a brief moment of comfort to the child whose life he was about to destroy. How insane was that?

The child warily gazed at the man who had suddenly appeared in front of him and vaguely wondered if the adult had lost his mind. Something seemed to have struck him as funny and he was now shielding his eyes with one gloved hand and laughing hysterically. The boy desperately wanted to pull away from him however he was pinned to the wall and his legs refused to obey his commands to run.

_"I can't believe I want to offer comfort to a kid whose life I just destroyed," _he thought to himself as he held his hand out to the little boy.

As expected the little boy pulled back from his touch however he was already leaning up against the alley wall and he really had nowhere left to go. The Fourteenth gently placed his hand over the child's eyes and whispered a couple of carefully chosen words of magic. The child's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped over, immediately slipping into an unconscious state.

"You won't remember any of this when you wake," the Fourteenth whispered as he rose to his feet and turned away from the unconscious form of the child. "But for what it's worth I really hope that you find a measure of happiness in the time that you have left."

And with these words the Fourteenth turned and walked away, missing the small glint of green that could barely been seen through the fabric that the boy had wrapped around his arm. There were still many things that he had to do and he was running out of time. It wouldn't be long before the Earl and the rest of the Noah caught up with him and the Fourteenth wanted to be prepared for this final showdown. He was well aware of the fact that his chances of winning at this point, after having been pursued so furiously by his former 'family' were slim to none which was why he was taking the steps that he was.

He would be the one who defeated the Millennium Earl.

Walking along down the street the Fourteenth soon became acutely aware of the fact that he was being followed. Having become attuned to his surroundings during his war with the Noah he never failed to notice when someone undesirable was around.

And as the man dressed in black came to walk beside him and he realized who it was he groaned. This wasn't his first encounter with the man and he knew that they simply didn't come any less desirable than Cross Marian. The man was dressed in a coat of black and gold, adorned with the rose cross that all Noah were familiar with, and he had flaming red hair. He wore a hat that matched his coat and on top of that sat a golden ball with wings and a tail.

The man was supposed to be one of the five generals of the Black Order however he sure as hell didn't act like one. The man was way to fond of alcohol and almost always had at least one woman hanging on his arm, usually more than that.

No one would ever think that a man with such loose morals was actually a member of the church.

"I see you're still alive," Cross said in a gruff tone of voice as he fell in step with the Musician.

"Obviously," the Fourteenth said with a hint of sarcasm obvious in his voice, not even bothering to spare the man a passing glance. Many would have been surprised by the sudden appearance of the Exorcist but not the Fourteenth. He knew that Cross had been keeping a close eye on him since his betrayal of the Millennium Earl and he knew that the man would more than likely be around for the final battle. If things didn't turn out in his favor then. . . "Hey Exorcist. . ."

Although he knew the man's name he had never once used it.

"What is it?" Cross sounded completely sober and, probably as a direct result, somewhat angry.

"We both know that I'm probably going to die," the Fourteenth said, seeing no point in denying the obvious. He was already injured from his many battles with the Noah and wasn't sure how much more torture that he could endure.

"Yea."

Cross sounded less than concerned about the Musician's impending demise.

"If I die I want you to watch over Mana for me."

Cross was taken somewhat by surprise and he actually gaped at the Fourteenth. It seemed to him as though the Noah had taken one too many blows to the head. Something had obviously been jarred loose if the man expected him to baby-sit his brother. "Why the hell would I do that?"

A fierce look appeared in the eyes of the Musician as he turned to face the Exorcist. "Because I'm going to come back to him. And I will be the one who defeats the Millennium Earl."

Cross could tell, by the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice, that the Fourteenth had done something to ensure that his death, should it happen, was not final. And being a magician himself he found himself wanting to know exactly what the man had done. Wanted to know which forbidden spell that he had cast. "Tell me everything and I might be convinced to watch him."

"Oh trust me," the Fourteenth said. "You're going to want to keep an eye on him for me."

And with these words the Fourteenth proceeded to tell Cross everything that had transpired although he omitted the identity of the person who now possessed the license of the Player. That was something that the Exorcist, no it was something that no one needed to know.

Cross gazed at the Musician, somewhat surprised by the words that the man had just spoken. He had been trailing this guy and his brother for quite some time and knew that he was determined to kill the Millennium Earl with his own hands and yet this was something that he had to admit that he hadn't been expecting.

"This was not what I had planned. . ." the Fourteenth whispered as he walked away from Cross.

And as it turned out those were the last words that Cross would ever hear from the Fourteenth. Three days later he was murdered by the Millennium Earl himself and his brother Mana was left devastated. As he watched the man from a distance, having stayed around to make sure that nothing bad happened, Cross couldn't help but think that his mind had slipped somewhat.

He didn't seem to be the same person now that the Fourteenth was gone.

Of course grief did that to people which was why Cross was spending his evening watching this guy instead of in the company of a beautiful woman. But this grief seemed on a completely different level than most and Cross wasn't sure that he would ever recover.

There was a distinct possibility that there would be nothing left of the brother that he had left behind when the Musician returned.

And all Cross could think was, "This was not what I had planned."

A/N - oh no, I wrote another one. I seem to have a thing for D Gray Man one shots now. I admit that I have no basis for this one however I wanted to write it so write it I did. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you thought.


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